Even though Warner Bros. is reportedly aiming for a late fall shoot on ”Superman,” there’s still no official word on who will play the Man of Steel, but one insider has plenty of info on who may play the other major roles. That’s Shia LaBeouf, who spilled the beans to USA Today at Wednesday’s Hollywood premiere of ”I, Robot.” The 18-year-old ”Holes” star, who has a small role in ”Robot” as a street kid, said he had just come from a meeting with ”Superman” director McG (”Charlie’s Angels”), and that the two had ”talked about Jimmy Olsen and who’s going to be playing who.” In addition to the possible role for LeBeouf as the cub photojournalist, the actor said McG wants to cast Scarlett Johansson as Lois Lane and Johnny Depp as villain Lex Luthor.

If Johansson does play the Daily Planet reporter, the 19-year-old ”Lost in Translation” star will at last have a love interest close to her own age, since the actors under consideration to play Superman are all similarly young. LeBeouf echoed a report last month in Variety that said McG will not cast a big name as Clark Kent – even rising star Jake Gyllenhaal (”The Day After Tomorrow”) is already too big, LeBeouf said. (The studio is apparently looking for an actor who doesn’t already have a well-established screen image, and who won’t balk at earning a modest salary and being tied to a three-picture commitment.) ”They’re going to go with an unknown,” LeBeouf said. According to Variety, McG screen-tested half a dozen young actors for the part, including Jared Padalecki (”Gilmore Girls”), Jason Behr (”Roswell”), film newcomer Michael Cassidy, and British actor Henry Cavill (”The Count of Monte Cristo”). Guess ”Smallville”’s Tom Welling has already been there, done that.